Find out how we provide our employees with behavioural safety training

In 2015 we trained colleagues in our SafeStart® behavioural safety programme at our global manufacturing facilities and offices. SafeStart® training supports our strong internal safety culture and also encourages employees to practice good safety at home with their families.

The programme addresses people’s everyday habits and behaviours to reduce accidents and encourages an open and honest approach to communication around safety in the workplace. Making sure people feel comfortable talking about safety issues is hugely important and helps avoid a blame culture and shame associated with mistakes and accidents.

SafeStart® aims to make sure safe habits are ingrained into people

Following an accident, we ask colleagues to talk openly about the incident, what was going through their mind at the time and how they can correct actions for next time. By understanding how and why things can go wrong, we work out how to change habits to reduce mistakes. SafeStart® is built around the ‘Critical Error Reduction Techniques™’ (CERTs). Habits are things people do without thinking, so it’s vital that we inspire the same approach to safety wherever our employees are and whatever they’re doing. SafeStart® aims to make sure safe habits are ingrained into people so that whether they’re at home, on the road or at work – safety comes first.

Making sure people feel comfortable talking about safety issues is hugely important and helps avoid a blame culture and shame associated with mistakes and accidents.

This unique form of safety training teaches people to focus on those little habits we all have – like not looking before you move – that result in mistakes at work. Although most of these small mishaps won’t result in a major accident, one day they could.

So, instead of asking our employees to think ‘be safe’, we ask them to think ‘do it safely’ so that safety becomes a habit rather than an afterthought.